


Alluring

by Jambalaya



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, but anyway here you go, i accidentally orphaned my first submission idrk how that works omg, i'll update this as much as i can, this is really bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:27:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6484567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jambalaya/pseuds/Jambalaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy moved into a new apartment just in time for college. everything should go well from then on.<br/>he thought so until someone messes around in his apartment and he realizes he has a stalker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. blonde hair and blue eyes

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: this fan fiction is made purely for the entertainment of my fellow Lukercy trash any similarities with real life situations is a mere coincidence

Percy can’t be more grateful for Annabeth finding this apartment for him. His first day in university is in four days and the dormitories he was supposed to move into became unavailable due to the owner dealing with “personal problems”. That problem became his problem, and he had less than a week to look for a new place to stay.

Grover used to stay there and said that it wasn’t that bad. It was relatively close to university too, so Percy considered himself lucky.

 

“Yeah Mom. Yes, I locked my doors. No, the place is fine. Yeah, I’m heading out with Annabeth and the others for dinner. Remember that place by the park that had the blue sushi? Yup. Love you too. Bye,”

Percy takes the phone from his face and shoves it into his pocket. It was 6 pm and he was on his way to have dinner with some friends, celebrating his last night of freedom, as Thalia would say it. It might also be their last meeting until who knows when because they’d all probably be busy with college.

Percy makes sure that his door is really locked and jogs towards the elevator at the end of the hall. He would take the stairs but climbing up or down from the 8th floor is no joke. He got inside and pressed the button for the ground floor.

“Hey, hold it,”

An arm peeked through the space between the closing doors of the elevator making it open and a blonde man stepped inside. He flashes a charming smile and Percy smiles back, pretending that didn’t just make his heart skip a beat.

The blonde stranger looked a few years older. He had a scar that ran from his right eye down to his jaw, but that didn’t seem to make him look scary or unattractive. As a matter of fact, he’s handsome. His smile made him look friendly and unintimidating. He was wearing jeans and a white shirt under a black jacket. His clothes would’ve looked completely casual on someone else but it made him look like a celebrity with his cute smile, captivating eyes and gorgeous hair and… Percy stop it.

Percy looks down on his worn out sneakers. He just pulled on his jeans and a t-shirt, which has seen better days, and felt like he probably looked like a slob especially when he’s standing next to this god like being.

“You new here?” Percy thought he was talking to someone else but seeing as they were the only two people in the elevator he was probably talking to him.

“Yeah, I moved in just a few days ago.” Percy grew more conscious about his appearance and started playing with his hair.

“Oh, Welcome to your new home then.” He smiles again. Percy muttered a ‘thanks’ and managed a smile. “My name’s Percy by the way.”

“Luke.”

The seemingly endless ride down the elevator came to an end and both men stepped out. “I’ll see you around ‘kay? Have fun at dinner with your friends,” Luke waves. “Yeah,” He walks out of the building and Percy stares, still dazed.

 

Thalia was the first one to spot Percy by the door when he entered the restaurant. She waved an arm at him and the others looked at his direction.

“Percy!” Grover high fived him. “Sup, G-man,”

“How’s the new place? Pretty sweet huh?” Grover asks.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s really great,” Percy’s mind unconsciously wanders to Luke. “What time is your class tomorrow?” Annabeth sips at her drink. “Noon.”

“You know what that means then,” Thalia mischievously smiles and pours Percy a drink.

 

Percy groaned and was thankful that Annabeth wasn’t as irresponsible as Thalia or a pushover like Grover. They would’ve all been knocked out by the alcohol if it weren’t for her.

Percy wasn’t intoxicated, but sure as hell was tired. He had class in the morning and he just wants to get into bed. He felt groggy but managed to look like a normal human being getting into his apartment building.

He walked towards the elevator and waited after pressing the button.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said. He turned and almost jumped at the sight of Luke. He wore the same clothes but had his jacket tied around his waist. His shirt is actually a tank top and the lack of sleeves revealed his muscular arms. Percy could only think, oh my god.

The elevator opened with a ding and the two stepped inside. It was quiet until Luke spoke. “So, how was dinner?”

“It was fine. Just kind of tired.”

“Mhm, you should take it easy with the alcohol. Especially on a school night.” Luke chuckles, as if speaking based on experience. “Yeah,” Percy laughs and scratches his eyes. He might have just done that to make sure Luke doesn’t notice the tint of red his face had on right now.

“Wait, how did you know?”

“Hm?”

“About dinner?”

Luke doesn’t look at him and remains silent, still smiling. Percy realizes that he also knew about dinner before. “I just know people.” The elevator dinged and stopped two floors from Percy’s. He was confused because he assumed Luke lived on the same floor as him since he was there this morning.

“Good night, Percy.” He pats Percy’s shoulder with a smile and the doors close.

Alone with his thoughts, Percy’s lips curled up into a smile until it was a toothy grin that reached up to his ears. He felt silly, getting giddy over a stranger like this, unknowingly disregarding the whole ‘knowing of his plans’ matter, but he couldn’t help it. The guy was so damn attractive and friendly, it was impossible.

He swiftly navigates his way through his apartment and manages to strip off most of his clothing before slumping down on his bed. The sheets seem to embrace him and pull him deeper into the mattress.


	2. where's my toothbrush

The sound of his phone alarm woke Percy up. He reaches for it, trying to turn it off with his eyes closed. Dark strands of his hair covered his eyes and he was sure he had dried up drool on the side of his face.

He knew he was going to sleep in until 2 pm if he didn’t set up an alarm in the morning. He got up, stretched and strutted over to the bathroom. Sleep finally left him when he splashed cold water on his face. He puts on a shirt and goes to his kitchen to consume a bowl of cereal.

The key is turned and put into his pocket, Percy was ready to leave. He walks down to the elevator, busy with his phone. The elevator bell rings and he walks inside.

Two floors down, the elevator stops and opens, letting a blonde man inside. Clad in the pair of jeans he had on last night, and a button up shirt with the sleeves folded up to his fore arms.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Percy blinks twice before smiling back at Luke. “Good morning to you too.”

 

The first day was good and went by smoothly. Nothing much happened, it’s all just introductions and going over the things to discuss for the semester. The day went by quickly and Percy was on his way home by 5 pm.

Grateful for his early dismissal, he arrived at his apartment building, looking forward to eating the pizza he bought on his way home for dinner. He walks in and heads to the elevator.

“Sup,” almost as if on cue, Luke shows up. “Hey Luke,” Percy greets back, feeling giddy inside. “How was your first day?” Luke asks, running a hand through his hair.

Percy blanks out for a second. “I… It was okay. Just the first day so nothing much happened really.”

“Oh you better enjoy that while it lasts. You know how college is. Suffering here and there,” He makes gestures with his hands and laughs. Percy can’t help but do the same.

The elevator stops on the 6th floor and Luke gets off. “See yah around, Percy,” he regarded.

Percy gets inside his apartment and settles down on his couch. A slice of pizza on the left hand and the television remote on the other.  
In the middle of the tv show he was watching, just as the bad guy was about to betray his companions, his phone buzzes. He wipes his greasy hand on his shirt and grabs his phone. Annabeth had texted him, asking about his first day. Instead of replying he taps on his phone anc calls her.

“Hey, wise girl,” He chuckles. “First day was as expected, intros and all that. When are you guys free again? I miss you guys already,” Percy said with a silly tone.

“That’s sweet, seaweed brain. But we literally met up yesterday! But I’m up for another gathering. We should ask the others first though,” Annabeth laughs.

Their conversation ends with a pending date for their next reunion. Percy is really close with his friends and treats them all like family. He meant it when he said he misses them already. Knowing the others, they probably felt the same way.

He goes to the small bathroom in his bedroom and faces the mirror. He reaches for his toothbrush and toothpaste.

“Wait, what.”

His toothbrush and toothpaste were missing. He looks around the sink and goes over to the shower, hoping it was just misplaced there. instead of finding his toothbrush, he just finds out that his shampoo was missing too. He grunts and steps out of the bathroom.

He looked in his room, his closet, his bed, his suitcase that he used and it was nowhere to be found. Nice. His place might be haunted. He was lucky that there was a convenience store nearby. He didn’t have to go to the grocery store that was pretty distant.

He was putting on his jacket, pouting, when he noticed a pouch hanging on a coat rack by the door. It was pastel blue and Percy was sure he didn’t own that. He approached it and opened it to see the contents.

Inside was a toothbrush, a bottle of shampoo, a bar of soap and a tube of toothpaste. On the bottle of shampoo, there was a note attached.

_I stole your toiletries as a joke and felt bad. Got you new ones._

Shivers ran down his spine because his place was haunted not by a ghost but by a creepy prankster. How the heck did they even get in here? He was certain that he locked his   
doors. Maybe he left a window open?

He runs to his living room and makes sure the windows were shut tight. He didn’t know what to think of it but he sure as hell did not trust the pouch he just found. He closes it up again, throws it in a trash bin and heads out.

He went down and back, and was kind of disappointed he didn’t run into Luke, just like how he always does. He figured he was being silly though. It was 7 in the evening; he didn’t have a reason to be somewhere else. And besides. That was the least of his worries. Someone just broke into his home.

 

He immediately texts Grover as soon as he got back from buying new toiletries.

_Grover. You said this place was okay. It’s not. Someone stole my toothbrush._


	3. don't laugh but they gave me creamer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a longer chapter than usual ahaha----

Grover thought Percy was just pulling a joke on him all throughout their conversation. He realized the brunette was serious when he finished telling what happened. Grover asked, “Wait, you’re serious?” and laughed so hard he cried. Percy gave up trying to explain about what happened as silly as it sounded. An intruder stole my shampoo and felt bad so they bought me new ones. Yep. Sounds ridiculous.

He was not putting the thought aside but went on with his day. He got ready then headed out to go to university. Two floors down and the elevator doors open and Luke steps inside. This was becoming a habit. And how come it was always him?

“Hi,” Percy smiles. Luke doesn’t say anything but smiles back at Percy. They were silent for a few moments.

“So, how’re you?” Luke finally speaks.

“Pretty good? This place is weird.” Percy remembers what happened the night before. “Oh you’ll get used to it.” Luke chuckles. “By the way, you should hurry. The bus leaves in 3 minutes.”

“Oh sure, tha- wait.” Percy looks at Luke. “How’d you know I take the bus?” Luke was silent, but smiling. “Are you… a mind reader or something?”

Luke couldn’t help but laugh. “What? You think I’m psychic?”

“Just a thought,” Percy rubs his neck and looks down, kind of embarrassed.

“I might be.”

Percy looks up at the smirking Luke. “Explains a lot. You also knew that I was having dinner with my friends and that we had alcohol two days ago.” Luke just smiles and looks forward. “What if I was a psychic?” the blonde said, and Percy didn’t know if he was being serious or not.

They part ways as always, but Percy was the first to exit the building. Turns out Luke was right about the bus leaving in 3 minutes. Toiletry-thieving-ghost, psychic neighbor, what else is next?

 

Percy got back and was almost afraid to sleep. He didn’t know what exactly that intruder wanted and all his assumptions just made him more scared. It could just be a prank but how’d they get in here? He should probably contact someone about this.

He shuffled around his kitchen, organizing stuff. He was desperate for a distraction. He opened up his cupboards and found that he didn’t have any creamer anymore. He took the jar and set it on the counter so he’d remember to buy some tomorrow.

Left with nothing but his paranoia, Percy just gets to bed and tries to sleep. He breathes deeply and thanks to exhaustion, he started to relax. His heart rate managed to slow down and his eyelids felt heavier. Slowly, he was drifting to sleep.

 

His phone buzzed and Percy was sure it wasn’t his alarm for it was way too early. He shifted, lying down sideways and checked his phone. He got a few texts from Thalia, Nico and his mom.

He almost forgot that Nico wanted to come over his place soon. He taps on the screen responding to Nico and Thalia, who was asking when they could hang out again. Percy told them that Annabeth had also mentioned wanting to hang out again. They could probably go for it as long as nobody was buried in homework already.

Percy stands up and stretches, putting his phone on his ear, hearing the ringing sound from the other end. “Percy?”

“Morning, Mom. I just called to tell you that everything’s”— he paused thinking about the strange occurrences that has been happening to him lately. —“fine.”

His mom sighs on the other end. “Honey, I just worry a lot about you, okay? How’s your stay there?” Percy smiles to himself. “The place is great. You don’t have to text me all the time. Don’t worry mom, I’m taking care of myself.”

Their conversation ended shortly after. Percy decided not to tell anyone, especially his mom, about it yet. It was all too strange and he didn’t exactly have enough proof to prove that there was an intruder. Heck, even Grover didn’t believe him.

Percy walks out of his room, not bothering to make his bed because as he always said, why bother when you’re going to lay back down there and mess it up again anyway. He suddenly misses his mom despite speaking with her just a few moments ago. She always made sure Percy’s bed was always neatly made back at their old place.

He got to his kitchen and scavenged the fridge for some milk and notices the jar of creamer on his counter was gone. Percy scratches his head thinking if he was just dreaming when he took it out last night. He opens the cupboard where he kept it and there it was, sitting in the shelf. He takes it and notices that it had a seal on and there was a note attached on the back.

_Saving you the trouble of running to the store to buy more, sweet thing_

All color on Percy’s face drained and he put the container back in the cupboard. This is definitely not a ghost, but a creep.

 

“Annabeth?” He speaks into the phone with scrunched eyebrows, waiting for the elevator. “Hey Percy? You okay?”

“Don’t think I’m crazy but someone is breaking into my home and giving me stuff.”

“What?” Annabeth says, trying to conceal her laugher. “I’m serious! Look just please meet me in the afternoon if you’re free. I need human contact.” Percy tapped his foot nervously, clutching onto his phone.

“Okay, okay. We’ll meet up. Calm down okay?” Annabeth says. “Thank you.”

 

Annabeth and Percy agreed on meeting in her and Thalia’s university because they were stuck doing homework with another friend of theirs. Their term started earlier than Percy’s which would explain the amount of work they already have in their hands.

Percy got lost because the place was HUGE. It was probably twice as big as his university. Fortunately, with a few directions asked and some signs, he managed to get into the supposed study hall Annabeth was talking about.

“Oh my god, Annabeth. You could have at least helped me look for this place in this labyri— Oh.” Percy stopped on his tracks when he saw the third companion Annabeth had with her. Thalia waved a hand and resumed drumming on the table with her pens with headphones on and next to her was a blonde man, with blue eyes and a scar on the right side of his face.

“Luke?”

“Oh, Hi Percy!” Luke stood up enthusiastically, leaning his hands on the table, with a wide smile on his face. “Small world huh? We live in the same apartment complex,” he informs the confused Annabeth (and Thalia who still had headphones on and probably has no idea what was happening.)

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Percy sat next to Annabeth. “Someone’s breaking in my place and is giving me things.”

“What?” Annabeth’s reaction was the same as this morning. She looks at Thalia, who takes of one ear piece, with an amused expression.

“Well, it started with them taking my toothbrush but— Don’t laugh I’m not kidding!”

“I’m sorry! I mean, we believe you but it’s kind of hilarious,” Thalia laughed. Percy sank back on his seat and crossed his arms. He looks at Luke and noticed that he was trying not to laugh too.

“Screw you guys,” Percy rests his head on the table.

“I’m sorry— Anyway Percy, Who do you think would do that? We really do believe you. It’s just sounds too funny to be real.” Annabeth said after slightly recovering from her laughter.

“I don’t know okay?! I literally just moved there and now I got some stalker after me.” Percy states. “Do they follow you around?” Luke asks.

“Well, no.” Percy replies. “All they’ve done so far is give me new toiletries, and creamer.”

Thalia snickers with Annabeth and Percy glares at them. “Creamer?” Luke repeats, with a puzzled look.

“Yes. I ran out of creamer, I put the jar out and the next morning I find a new container with a note attached to it in my cupboards.” Percy cringes at how crazy he sounded.

“What did the note say?” Thalia asks.

Percy stiffens up. “Uhh… They wanted to save me the trouble of buying my own.” He decided he should probably leave the “sweet thing” part out.

Annabeth and Thalia exchange glances then looks back at Percy. “Okay, you’re serious about this. We don’t really have any idea who this person might be but clearly it’s pretty easy for them to sneak in.” Thalia leans on her elbows.

“Why not just make sure your doors and windows are closed and locked? Maybe you’re just forgetting that’s why it’s a piece of cake for them?” Annabeth follows up.

Percy was sure he never forgets. But that was the most logical answer, in fact the only answer, that he had right now. He sighs then looks at Luke who was just nodding at his friends’ ideas. “I don’t really have a choice. That’s it then I guess.”

“It’s gonna be fine. They haven’t done anything bad have they?” Luke asks, sounding worried. Percy shakes his head. “No. but it’s just scary that there’s someone else in there with me. And they might be following me around. I’ll never know. I don’t want to know,”

Luke bit his lip, thinking to himself. “Are you doing anything after this? Can you wait up for me?”

Percy’s eyes widen and he knew he was visibly red. “Huh? No, I’m not doing anything. Why?”

“Let’s go home together today. You said you don’t know if they’re following you around, so just to be sure that they won’t do anything, I’ll go with you,” Percy tried to conceal his true reaction to Luke’s offer. He breathed slowly and finally gives an answer. “Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”

 

Luke and Percy took the subway going home together. Percy still had his mind on his stalker, but damn was he happy that he got to go back with Luke. He’s so nice and perfect.

“Don’t worry too much about it okay?” Luke pats his shoulder. Percy forces a smile and nods, but he was sure Luke still saw how much it bothered him.

“So, you’re friends with Annabeth and Thalia.” Percy grinned. “Yep. Been years already,” Luke nods.

“So that’s how you knew about dinner the other day. But how’d you know I was with them?”

“You’re still thinking about that?” Luke stifled his laugh, making Percy feel embarrassed. Okay, he was probably making too big a deal of it anyway.

Luke got off two floors from his, asking him if he was sure he didn’t want to go up with him before leaving, and he went up alone.

He got inside his apartment and texted Nico, asking when he wanted to come over. He entered his bed room, freezing by the door.

His pillows were neatly placed by the headboard and the sheets were smoothed out nicely. Percy knew what was going on when he looked at his nightstand and saw another note.

_It feels better to sleep on beds when they’re made_


	4. another day, another blonde

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's ch 4!! xDD (wow jambalaya updates a fic omg miracle)
> 
> ch 5 is actually done too and ch 6 is currently being written.  
> i'll be uploading ch 5 when i finish 6 and start on 7 OvO  
> idk how long this fic will be--

As the days went by Percy’s stalker/babysitter/housekeeper would always come, do something for him and leave notes. He gathered all the notes and kept them in the same pouch he found the toiletries in from before. He figured he could use these as evidence, or a clue to who wrote these by studying the penmanship.

So far the intruder would always make Percy’s bed, get him stuff that he needs (he ran out of sugar and milk and there just happens to be some the next morning), and right now, he was standing in his kitchen and someone had made him his breakfast.

_Eat up!_

Percy doesn’t know what to make of this. He poked the stack of blue pancakes on his counter. They were still warm too, so it was just made before he woke up. How’d they even know about Percy’s liking of blue food? Congratulations, stranger. You’re officially a stalker.

This has happened so often that Percy just gave in and ate the delicious breakfast served for him. He was in a hurry anyway. This time he made sure to make his bed and lock all his windows and doors (they still always manage to get in though).

Percy double checks his front door and finally leaves. The elevator was out of order for now due to maintenance so he had to take the stairs.

“Oh goddamn it.” Percy grumbled, looking down at what seemed like a staircase down to the Underworld. It was his first time taking these to go down so this would be fun.

7th floor

6th floor

5th floor

4th floor

“Having fun?” a familiar voice echoed from above.

“We’re forced to walk down from the highest floors of this building until that elevator finishes maintenance. Yes, I’m having the time of my life,” Percy says sarcastically.

Luke smiled. He suddenly jumped down and swung on the handrails, landing in front of Percy. He was too fast that Percy didn’t have time to react. “Show off,” Percy mutters. The blonde had a smug grin on his face and laughs. “You could use the exercise.”

Luke looked so damn good as always. He was wearing a grey tank top, dark jeans, and a hoodie tied on the strap of his messenger bag. He never fails to make Percy feel so conscious about how he dresses.

“Oh, I got all the exercise I need. I used to be in a swim team in high school.”

“That’s cool. Do you still swim?”

“No. I stopped when I was a junior. And I definitely can’t anymore. Figured I should focus on studying first.” Percy sighs, sounding disappointed. Luke’s lips curve down then he started bouncing with each step like a little kid. “Well, if it’s anything, there’s a gym near here that has a pool. You can come along when I work out. Maybe this Sunday if you’re free?”

Percy couldn’t help but give Luke’s bare arms a quick glance before meeting his eyes.

“Sure, why not.”

 

Percy arrived in his first class, feeling great as ever. Luke just asked him to go to the gym with him. He doesn’t know which part he should be happy about. The fact that he can swim again, hang out with Luke more, or watch him work out. Dam, oh happy days.

“Percy?”

In the midst of his day dreaming, a blonde guy with piercing blue eyes and a scar was standing next to his seat.

 

No, it’s not Luke.

“Jason!” Percy beamed, jumping off his seat and throwing himself all over his friend. He nonchalantly gets off afterwards realizing how embarrassing that was. “Man, it’s been forever,” He says instead.

Jason’s smile tugs at the scar on his upper lip, which he got from a hilarious incident when he was two. “2 years? Maybe 3? I heard from Thalia that you were going here too. I just didn’t expect that we’d end up in the same class.” Jason sits next to Percy.

“This is awesome. But I didn’t see you here during the previous meetings though?” Percy asks. “My previous class got dispersed so I ended up transferring here. Must be fate huh?”

Percy nods, smiling. He and Jason were buddies until high school but Jason had to move to a different city due to his dad’s work. He’s Thalia’s younger brother but Thalia had moved out when she’s gone to university.

 

“Bro, we should hang out again. Wanna come over and play video games or something?” Jason slips on his bag around his shoulder. “Sure, when are you free?” Percy asks, excited.

“Saturday? Sunday?”

“Aww man I can’t.” Percy fidgets with the straps of his bag. “Nico might be coming over on Saturday and I have plans with someone on Sunday,” Jason flinches but keeps a straight face, Percy would have missed it if he wasn’t staring at the blonde.

“Nico’s coming over?” He repeats and Percy nods. “That’s good, the guy needs some time away from his room.” Jason chuckles.

“I can come over though if that’s fine? Would be cool to hang out with you both again,”

 

The day was over, and Percy had some homework to be done. He rode the elevator up and proceeds to his flat. He should probably clean up his place soon before Nico and Jason comes over.

_Hope you liked the pancakes_

Of course he expected this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ////i hope this isn't as bad as i think it is--  
> ch 5 will be up on tuesday or wednesday next week


	5. i came here to swim

“Oh, Percy don’t you dare use that red shell!” Jason shoves his foot in Percy’s direction, laughing and desperately trying to distract his opponent.

“Sorry Grace. It must be done,” Percy says apologetically, but clearly not sorry about it. Suddenly a blue shell flies in above Jason’s character and slams onto them both. Someone else zooms past their carts. Jason and Percy stare in awe and disbelief, seeing that they came in 4th and 5th.

“Nico!” Percy and Jason face the winner as they yelled in unison. Nico just looks at them with a triumphant smile. “Sorry, it must be done.” The boy says, mocking Percy.

“Dammit, still the master of Mario Kart, Nico.” Percy mutters. “Hey, it’s 7, you guys wanna eat something?” Nico tilts his lips. “I think I should go home. Bianca might worry.”

“Aww come on, stay for a little while longer. It’s not always that we get to hang out like this anymore,” Jason puts his palms together. “I’ll even take you home so you won’t get in trouble,”

Nico squints at Jason. “Are you sure? I guess it’s okay.”

 

“Are you up for some Thai food?” Jason scrolled through his phone, looking for a place to order from. Nico made a face that told Jason that was a no.

“McDonald’s?” Jason flashed a knowing grin.

“I mean, if that’s okay.” Nico scratches his head. Since they have nothing else in mind, it was McDonald’s tonight.

“Should we get you a happy meal?” Jason teasingly pinched Nico’s cheek, baby talking. “Ow, Stop. No. I—”

The rest of their conversation faded out. Percy sat by them in silence, kind of envious about how close these two are now.

Wait… Jealous? No. Probably not…?

Nico used to be that really quiet kid in the classroom. Only talked when spoken to. Their friend, Bianca, Nico’s sister was getting worried that he’d have no friends. Jason being the nice guy he is, told Percy he wanted to try and be friends with him. He actually went for it.

Who would’ve known the two would get along nicely despite Nico being a lot younger than Jason. All because of a game called Mythomagic. Percy didn’t even know Jason played it. Nico was still the same, except he’d smile more often and would sometimes start conversations with them.

 

“Hey man, it’s been great. We have to do this again sometime!” Jason raises his arm, his hand balled into a fist.

“I’m definitely up for it.” Percy bumps his fist with Jason’s. “How about we crash into your place next time? Oh and Jason… Take care of Nico.” Percy winks. “I’m just taking him home, Perce,” Jason’s eyes widen and he laughs it off, nodding. He then joins Nico who stood confused by the door.

Percy closes the door and sighs. He chuckles off the tight feeling in his chest.

He just goes straight to bed, looking forward to tomorrow.

 

_Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock_

“…..m coming…” Percy groggily rubs his eyes. What time is it? Who could be interrupting his precious sleep at this hour?”

It was 8:17 in the morning and he should still be in bed.

“What is it— Luke?” Percy’s heart did a little backflip making the drowse he felt leave his body. “What are you doing here?”

“We never really talked about what time to meet, huh?” the blonde smiles, framing his perfect teeth. He wore a black tank top and sweat pants with his messenger bag slung on one shoulder. Gods, this guy really liked tank tops and it was not good for Percy’s heart. “How could we have forgotten that one crucial detail? I didn’t even know how I was going to contact you,” Luke laughs. Now that Percy thought about it, they never set up where to meet either.

“We’re idiots.” Percy laughs along. “How’d you know where I am? Psychic powers again?” Percy raises a brow.

“Oh no, not this time.” Luke winks. “I texted Annabeth. I was going to ask her for your number too but I figured I should ask you myself. Here.” He hands Percy his number written on a small piece of paper then hands him his phone so Percy could put his number in it.

Percy chewed on his lip as he tapped on Luke’s phone. “Here,”

“Sweet. Let’s go.” Luke elbows him gently. “Wait. Uhh… I’m—” Percy looks down on his shirt and boxers.

“Oh. Pff— Sorry.” The blonde snickered. “Come inside while I get dressed. Want some coffee?”

“Nah, I’m good. Say… Is your stalker still paying you a visit?” Luke slumps down on Percy’s couch, setting down his bag next to him.

Percy looks around while he was preparing coffee for himself. “I don’t think they came last night. I didn’t find anything yesterday too. I had people over,” He sighs in relief.

“You probably woke up before they could do anything.”

“All thanks to you,”

“He cooked me pancakes. Blue pancakes.” Percy says, stirring his hot drink. “Was it good?” Luke chuckles and looks over at Percy who shrugs. “Well, yeah. Kinda creepy that they knew I liked blue though.”

“Blue is a nice color.”

 

“The pool is over there,” Luke points to a direction and Percy walks faster, thrilled to finally be embraced by his element again.

“Wow.”

The indoor pool was almost the same as the one Percy’s high school had back then but slightly bigger. The ceiling was made of glass, making the sun gleam down the water, shining like bright crystals. The pool had five lines separated by red floating dividers.

“If you’re done gawking, let’s go swim.” Luke stretches his arms and walks past Percy, straight to the locker rooms. Percy snaps out of his trance and follows Luke.

“You’re swimming too?”

“Yup. I’m not so shabby myself,” Luke pulls off his top and shoves it in a locker. He goes to one of the cubicles with his bag. Percy shakes his head and stops staring at Luke’s back.

“The pool is pretty nice but for some reason not many people go in here. I’m pretty sure we’ll have the whole place to ourselves all day,” Luke says from inside the cubicle.

“Oh that’s better. I prefer being alone when I swim,” Percy says, stripping off his pants. He had already worn his speedos underneath. Yes, he was that excited.

“I hope you don’t mind my company then.” Luke walks back to his locker to return his bag. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” Percy smiled, but was really distracted by his swimwear. He made funny movements trying to look at his own backside. The locker room didn’t seem to have any mirrors he could use. He gives up with a huff and adjusts it instead.

“It doesn’t look bad,” Percy catches Luke staring. “I don’t see why you’re so conscious,”

“I think it’s a little tight,” Percy slightly bends down, still struggling for comfort. They didn’t seem to show any horrific organs that shouldn’t be seen, but Percy just felt like junior high was a long time ago, and he was sure he grew.

“You’re fiiiiine,” Luke pats his shoulder, with emphasis on the ‘fine’.

“Easy for you to say. Your speedos fit you nicely, and are probably a lot newer than mine,” Percy rolls his eyes.

“Thank you for the compliment but if you’re scared that it’s way too tight and something is gonna show, it’s fine. I’m the only one who’s gonna see it.” Luke said almost sounding playful. Percy was sure his face was as red as ketchup right now.

“Uhh… let’s get out there then,” Percy turns around. “And stop staring,”

Luke smirks to himself and follows the brunette who was eager as ever.

 

Percy wished that he could stay in the water forever like this. The cold made him feel warm on the inside, bringing back the fondest memories from his childhood.

His Mom and Dad used to take him and his brother, Tyson, to the sea all the time. It was the best days of his youth. He floated along, staring up the clear glass ceiling.

“Having fun?”

Percy looks to his left and sinks after his body lost its equilibrium. He rises from the water and brushes his hair off his face. “Yeah. It feels great to be in the water again,”

“That’s good. You looked so peaceful and relaxed when you were floating around,” Luke says.

“Wanna race?” Percy’s eyes lit up.

“Race? but I won’t stand a chance against you.” Luke tilts his head not sounding like he was saying no. “Come on, just try. Winner gets a prize.”

“What will I win?” Luke raises a brow and grins.

“Oh, confident now are we? We’ll figure it out later,”

 

The two men stood facing the water, goggles on. They bent down, getting into position and Luke waits for Percy’s signal.

3

2

1

“Go!”

Percy was pretty confident. He knew that he has a higher chance of winning. He clawed on the water, raising his head for air. Adrenaline made him feel energized and he swam faster.

He reached a wall and made the turn, kicking hard with both feet.

Just a little more.

Percy extends a hand and touches the wall. He rises up, removing his goggles, gasping for air and Luke comes in after him.

“Wow, you’re fast,” Luke runs a hand through his hair after removing his gear. Percy smiles proudly and before he could brag or say anything, Luke sinks back into the water.

The blonde rises past the dividers, barely an inch in front of Percy. “Congratulations. Here’s your prize,” Luke held Percy’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He slowly leans in, eliminating the space between them and kisses the brunette.

Before Percy could protest or react, the kiss was over. He stared at Luke with wide eyes, a dropped jaw and probably a red face. Luke scans the area and meets Percy’s eyes again.

“C’mon let’s go get a drink or something,”


	6. no, it wasn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow an update!
> 
> i'm so sorry for the delays :(

Percy blankly stared down at the glass of blue lemonade. He slowly lifts his head and looks at Luke who was slurping his mango shake while playing a game on his phone.

Yes, the kiss still lingered in his mind. Why would Luke do that? Well, the blonde wasn’t bad. Percy could tell he was a pretty good kisser just from that 3 second contact.

“It’s only noon, wanna do something else?”

“Huh?” Percy snaps out of it. “Oh, I don’t know.” He plays with the cubes of ice in his drink with a straw. They were silent for a while.

“Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have done it.” Percy chews on his lip wishing there was a way out of this situation now that Luke brought it up. “No, it’s okay. I mean, you’re not bad. Wait what am I saying,”

Percy inhaled and exhaled. “Why did you kiss me anyway?”

“Got caught in the moment? I don’t know, I’m stupid sometimes. It was really tempting,” Luke looks away biting down on his lip. “I’m really sorry, that was a dumb thing to do. I didn’t mean to harass you.”

Percy chuckles, playing with the straw in his drink. “I get it. It’s fine. No big deal. I didn’t lose anything,”

“That wasn’t your first? I guess that’s not surprising considering your looks. You probably had a lot of girlfriends in high school,” Luke laughed, sounding relieved.

“Were you hoping that was my first?” Percy said, amused. Luke laughed shaking his head. “I kissed a lot of people in high school. From flings to dares. It’s quite the common theme for some reason, which made me pretty good at pretending kisses didn’t happen.” Percy smiled teasingly. “And I only had one girlfriend. But she wasn’t my first kiss. Long story short, my first kiss was a guy.”

Before Luke could ask any more questions, Percy clears his throat. “Why are we even talking about this, jeez.”

“Hey, I’m just listening here,” Luke smiles.

“Let’s just drop it,” Percy said, smiling back. “We can go back to the pool after we finish this. Try not to kiss me again,”

“Yeah, I’ll try.” Luke snickered, emphasizing the word

 

The two went back to the pool, with Percy being the first to dive into the water. He floated around looking at the sky.

Luke did a few laps and stopped to stare at Percy who was relaxing as he was cradled by the water like a child.

“Thanks,” Percy said, still staring up at the ceiling, smiling brightly. “We should do this again huh?”

Luke nods. “Yeah we will. And next time let’s set it up properly,”

 

“It’s only 1 pm, you wanna get home?” Percy rubs his towel on his damp hair.

“I guess so. Got homework to do?” Luke slips on a shirt and ruffles his hair. “No,” Percy hesitates for a second. “Uhm Luke,” His eyes nervously scan the floor like it was the most interesting pattern of tiles he’s ever seen. “You’re…”

Luke gave him a confused look, which he missed because he was so distracted by the floor. “I’m…?” the blonde mimics his tone.

“Are you gay?” Percy internally slapped himself, embarrassed by his own question, afraid that it might be a sensitive topic. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I mean I just wondered y’know—” He lifts his head and started spouting.

“Oh.” Luke’s tone sounded uncomfortable and his eyes said the same thing. Percy’s ears felt like they were on fire and he wished he didn’t ask such a private question. He was about to say sorry when Luke smiled again.

“I don’t know. Maybe I am? I’ve never really been with a guy before,” Percy furrows his eyebrows confused but he figured he shouldn’t ask anymore. He shrugs it off saying “oh that’s cool dude,” and slaps himself internally again for being so awkward.

“I heard you are though?” Luke asks. “Uhh, yeah…” Percy rubs the back of his neck and tried avoiding eye contact.

“Ah, I see.” Luke slightly jolts upon his realization. “For the record, I didn’t kiss you to tease you or anything- I was just-”

“…being dumb.” Percy finished Luke sentence jokingly, making the blonde laugh. I guess they’ll leave it at that.

 

“Thanks again for today,” Percy steps out of the elevator. “See you,” Luke waves before the doors shut.

He leans back on the door and buries his head between his knees, listening to Luke’s footsteps as he went away.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe that really happened.” He shook his head. He almost screamed because of the giddy feeling he had in his chest. He skipped along to his couch and lied down to check his phone. There was a text from Jason.

_When are you free again? I’m incredibly bored and in need of my bro. xoxo_

Percy blankly stared at his screen. He sighed and typed out a reply.

_Ew man, hahaha. I just got home, if you can pick up some pizza and zoom in right now, that’d be cool._

 

Within an hour, Jason arrives with two boxes of pizza and with a bonus: a litre of Pepsi blue, which made Percy’s heart skip. He sets it down on the kitchen table and gets some ice from the fridge.

“What’s up with you wanting to hang out all of a sudden? We just met up yesterday,” Percy asked, getting some plates for the pizza. “I don’t know man, I figured we should have our own alone time,” Jason laughs.

“So, did Nico ask you to hang out again too?” Percy looks up from the other side of the table when Jason spoke, picking up the pizza boxes to bring them to his couch. “We haven’t set anything again recently, why?”

“Oh, I see. Well, I was just curious. I just found it weird that he set up to meet with you and didn’t tell me,” Jason’s voice decreased in volume as he finished his sentence, almost like he was embarrassed.

“Hey, I’m not stealing your man, Jay.” Percy teases, ignoring the slight throbbing of his chest. “How’s it going with you two anyway?”

“He’s really not giving me a straight answer if he likes me back or not…” Jason looks down. “It’s always ‘I don’t know’, ‘can you give me more time?’…” his voice drifts off.

“It’s been a while already. Three and a half years, probably? Even when we didn’t see each other, I was still being told that you’re still asking him out. What’s up with Nico anyway,” Percy almost sounded angry. He didn’t hate Nico. He cared for him like a brother, but most importantly, he cared for Jason. The burning feeling of jealousy in him was a clear sign that yes; he still had feelings for Jason. Maybe they weren’t as strong as before, but he knew for a fact that during the two years they didn’t see each other, he missed Jason. And he has no idea.

“He’s just a bit busy. He’ll be in college soon too,” Jason defends Nico, which didn’t surprise Percy because he always made up excuses for Nico.

Percy pats Jason on the back and they head over to his couch and Jason suggests that they can just watch some movies like the good old times.

 

Just as the credits roll after Guardians of the Galaxy, Jason turns to Percy. “Did Nico seem really distant to you? Or was something completely off? Is it just me?” He had a worried look on his face. “Something was different, I could feel it,”

“Bro, you might be looking into things too much. He’s the same as ever. He’s still the Nico we know. A bit more lively thanks to you,” Percy chuckles.

“Sorry, I think you’re right. I’m just a bit paranoid I guess? I’m hearing rumors about him and Will,”

Percy tilts his head. “Will? As in Will Solace? The guy from the first aid team? I didn’t even know he knew Nico,”

Jason rested his head on the edge of the couch. “Look, I’m sure they’re just rumors. Calm down okay? Nico doesn’t seem like they type to go for guys like him.” Percy shakes the blonde’s shoulder.

“Will is so… Shiny.” Jason mutters.

“Oh gods, you sound ridiculous,” Percy bursts into laughter. “You practically glow yourself.”

Jason smiles and Percy feels a wave of happiness seeing this. “Thanks, Perce.”

 

“Oh shit, it’s already 8?” Jason checked the clock on Percy’s phone. “Time flew by so fast I didn’t even notice,”

“Gotta bolt?” Percy asked and Jason nods. “We both have class tomorrow,”

Percy shrugs. “Right. I’ll walk you to the bus station,” Jason thanks him and they head off.

“Thanks again, Percy. For everything.”

“Anytime dude,”

 

They get to the station and Jason gives Percy a fist bump and a surprise hug. Percy was scared that Jason might feel his heart pounding but thankfully the blonde said nothing. He waves and turns to leave as the doors on the bus closed.

He walks and takes the elevator back to his place.

He goes in and stretches, tired from his long day. Percy gets to his bedroom and sees a folded piece of paper on his nightstand;

 

_Good evening!_

_I hope that wasn’t your boyfriend : (_


	7. I don't have a type

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another update?!?!?!?!?!!?!?
> 
> https://max-never-maxine.tumblr.com/

“There was another note.” Percy texted Annabeth the night before and told her to call him as soon as she wakes up.

“What did it say?” Annabeth asked. “ They saw me with Jason. ‘I hope that wasn’t your boyfriend’. Jesus…”

“You wish he was,” Annabeth teased. “Shut uuuup,” Percy replied, a bit embarrassed.

“Sorry. Still a sensitive topic?” She sounded apologetic. “No no… come on it’s been years, I don’t like him that much anymore.” Percy wondered if he was lying or not.

“Sorry… uhm anyway, do you wanna hangout later? Thalia and I thought of having dinner at that steak house two blocks from our university. The one with the big sign, “Very nice to meat you? Grover and Luke are coming too. You should invite Jason.” Percy felt weird that his two ‘crushes’ are going to be there in the same room. Okay, did he really think of Luke like that?

No point in denying. He just accepted it. But at the same time thinking, does he really have time for this unsolicited, infatuation?

“Percy?” Annabeth called out to him. “Sorry, yeah I remember that place. I’m only coming to sue them for that terrible pun.” Annabeth laughs.

 

_Is Nico going to be there?_

Jason’s question lingered in Percy’s mind. He met up with Jason when he got to university and invited him over. Jason really likes Nico, he thought.

The envy stayed until Jason and Percy got to the steak house. Percy flinched when he saw the sign. “There it is, in its full glory” Jason shakes his head, stifling a laugh. As they entered the place, they were greeted by the smell of cooked meat. The two boys smile at each other because, wow, that smell is amazing.

They saw Grover raise a hand from their table and they head on over. A few greetings and high fives finally they’re seated. Unfortunately (or fortunately), for Percy, the two available seats was the one next to Luke. He sits down next to the blonde (of course), and exhales as he is in between the two scarred blondes who can make his heart skip a beat. No, he doesn’t have a type.

“You must be Luke,” Jason extends a hand across Percy and smiles at Luke, who looks at his hand, looks at him, then Percy and finally smiles back. “Yeah, Jason right? I’ve heard so much about you from Thalia.” He takes Jason’s hand and shakes it.

“Oh, I bet she told you _wonderful_ stories,” Jason rolls his eyes at his sister, who snickered.

“Oh, don’t worry, you seem a lot cooler than how she described you,” Luke grins.

They order their food and soon after, it arrives. The service in this place really impressed Percy. “So, how are you guys?” He asked. “Oh you know, the usual. Study, study. Party, party.” Thalia shrugs.

“You continue to amaze me with how you balance your studies with socializing,” Grover shakes his head. “It’s all about the caffeine. Also having a friend who reminds you of upcoming exams,” Thalia pokes Annabeth on the cheek. “What about you guys?”

“Nothing much really. Classes just started and we just have homework. All I have to deal with is my stalker,” Percy drinks from his glass.

“Stalker?” Jason echoes. “What stalker?”

“Oh, have I not told you yet? Don’t laugh like how they all did,” Percy side eyes his friends. “But someone is breaking in my apartment and giving me stuff… also notes…”

Jason looked worried. “Bro, you should have told me. I could have stayed with you and kept watch or something. I know how paranoid you can get,”

“Aww, how sweet,” Percy jokes. “I’m fine man. You have better things to do than be my unpaid body guard. Besides, I have my trusty neighbour here to count on.” Percy looks at Luke, who was already looking at him.

“Yeah, just scream _‘Ca-Caw’_ and I’ll come running down to you,” Luke laughs.

“Oh, you guys live in the same building? That’s really c-” before Jason finishes his sentence, his elbow hits his glass and spills his juice. Percy quickly grabs it and stands it up before more of it went everywhere.

“Jason, my god, you gotta be careful,” Percy pats down the spill with tissue paper and hands some to Jason.

“I’m so sorry for my clumsy little brother. Nice reflexes though,” Thalia says. “You guys look so cute together, cleaning up Jason’s mess,”

Her statement gets her a frown from the two ‘bros’ and she and Annabeth laugh.

 

When everyone was full and happy, it was time to leave. The friends promised to do this again and they parted ways. Thalia and Annabeth walked to the direction of their dorms, with Grover who was going to borrow a few books from Annabeth.

“Where are you headed?” Luke asks Jason. “I’ll be taking the bus home. What about you guys?”

“We’ll take the bus too, right Luke?” Percy smiled.

“Aww man, I’ll be taking the subway tonight. I have to pass by somewhere to pick something up. Is it okay if you come with me, Percy?” Luke sighed.

Percy looked at the two blondes in front of him. He could almost see floating buttons in front of them that said ‘Go with Jason’ and ‘Go with Luke’.

“Sorry, Luke, I’m a bit tired already. And I have some homework I need to get to…”

Luke pressed his lips together and nodded. “It’s alright, I’ll see you around alright?” he waves to the two and walks the other direction.

 

“Luke’s a cool guy. It’s funny how we’re both blonde and we both have scars.” Jason smiles. “I wonder how he got his…”

“Maybe he tried to eat a puncher. You guys will be known as stapler and puncher.” Percy laughs. 

“You shit.”

The trip was quick for the two. Jason got off the bus first and gave Percy a fist bump before leaving. Percy whispered ‘stapler and puncher’ before Jason took a step and the blonde just laughs.

 

Percy gets home, and takes out his homework so he can get to it and sleep, because he was actually tired as he told Luke. He pulls out his phone and sends him a text.

_hope you got home safe, dude_

As Percy was about to finish his work, he gets a reply from Luke. A thumb up and a smiley face. Percy wondered if Luke really texted this little or was he a bit upset about tonight. He couldn’t have been right? Percy shakes off the thought and goes to shower as soon as he finished.

He scans his apartment for anything out of place or perhaps a note. And there it is, by the sink.

_did you notice that you ran out of dish soap already?_

Percy shakes his head and shoves the note into the bag he keeps the ‘evidence’ in.

He wanders off to his room and slumps on his bed. He decided he’ll worry about it tomorrow. He browsed a little bit on his phone until he felt his eyelids getting heavier and gives in.

The silence of the night was broken when he heard a noise from his window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hnghhh finally i am getting to the parts that i really wanted to write for so long!!!  
> stay tuned for the net chapters~!
> 
> https://max-never-maxine.tumblr.com/


	8. at least i'm alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update! thank you for reading!
> 
> check out my IG or message me there for questions/updates: @viralirus

Percy always thought about what he’d do if by any chance a thief broke into his home. All the planning he did with his mom went down the drain. It’s really different when you’re faced with the real thing.

His eyelids fluttered open again to the sound of a tap then a thump, like shoes on carpet. He blinked away the drowse and slightly moved his head. The last thing he saw was his door being shut. Percy started to sweat and stared at the door with wide eyes. Fear replaced his exhaustion and he was sure now that he was hearing soft footsteps outside his room.

Percy breathed in and out, trying to calm down. He could reach for his phone and call the police. Or his mom to say good bye just in case he died. But would he really allow this to happen? Soon the visitor came back inside his room

“Fuck it.” he said to himself. In a swift movement, he grabbed his lamp from his night stand and threw it in the direction of the intruder. He saw them dodge the object and look back at Percy. The darkness wasn’t helping but Percy felt a sense of familiarity with the culprit.

They stood there for a moment until the stranger ran towards the door. Only they weren’t trying to escape. Soon, light stung Percy’s eyes.

Right by the exit of his room, Luke was standing with a hand on the light switch, still wearing the clothes he wore from dinner.

Percy didn’t know what to think of this. Luke was right there where the intruder was supposed to be. He felt all kinds of emotions but only one managed to become recognizable. Anger.

“Luke, What the fuck?!”

“Hey Perce. Had to make sure you wouldn’t kill me if you caught me,” He replies casually, like how he always did. “Nice bed hair,”

Percy stormed towards Luke and crossed his arms. “Explain. Right now.” Calling the police crossed Percy’s mind for a second but he thought not to. Luke bit his lower lip and looked around. “Your room looks nice,” he says with the same casual tone. Percy retained his unimpressed expression, waiting for the explanation he deserved.

“Okay okay, yeah. I may or may not have been dropping by here uninvited for the past month.” Luke smirks and avoids eye contact, but Percy wasn’t just going to let this go.

“You almost scared me to death! So, all this time it was you?! You’ve been the one doing all that creepy shit and leaving notes?”

“Notes you kept, yes.”

“How did you even—I don’t want to know. I kept those for evidence.” Percy replied.

“Now explain, you creep. How did you manage to get in here?”

“Oh you know. There’s the window or the door.” Percy just becomes more confused. “You pick my locks?” Luke nods.

“How did you know about the creamer?! The blue pancakes?! The toothbru— Wait a second. You took my toothbrush!” Percy points a finger at Luke.

“I just thought it’d be funny!” Percy slaps his arm and he laughs. “Look, I’m sorry okay?”

“Sorry? You idiot, do you have any idea how scary that experience was? I thought I was about to die!” Percy storms out of his room and goes to his fridge. Luke follows.

“Hey come on, at least I’m not actually a murderer or thief,”

“You stole my toothbrush.”

“I got you new ones!”

Percy shook his head and took out a pitcher of water from the fridge. Luke smiles, trying his best ‘puppy eyes’ and hands Percy a glass. He snatches it from the blonde’s hand and pours himself some water.  
“What the heck is your deal? Why are you stalking me?” Percy speaks after chugging down his glass.

“Before I explain, I don’t exactly stalk you alright? There’s a difference between stalking and… whatever this is I’m doing.” Luke defends. Percy just raises his arms and drops them to his thighs.

“It’s called stalking. I can’t believe this. You know what, I’m sorry I ever thought you were attractive and cool. You're nothing but a creep!”

“You think I’m attractive?” Luke smiles smugly. Percy frowns but was clearly blushing.

Luke bites his lip. “Fine. I stalk you. I’m really sorry. You’re right you deserve an explanation. I’ll tell you everything you wanna know, alright?”

Their conversation ends up with them sitting on Percy’s couch at 2 am, with Percy interrogating his… guest.

“Okay, first of all, why did you do this?”

“I… wanted to be close to you.” His answer just made Percy even more confused. “What do you mean?”

“Uhm.. how do I explain this… I wanted to know more about you.”

Percy tilts his head and throws his hands in the air in confusion. “Luke, can you just get straight to the point? I’m getting even more confused,”

Luke sighs. “I don’t know man. I’m a really really awkward person. Explains why despite the fact that I am friends with THE Thalia Grace and THE Annabeth Chase, they’re the only people I hang out with in university. I do have other friends but that’s because they approached me first. I have a hard time sparking up conversations and, believe it or not, in high school I was a pretty quiet guy. Kind of a loner. I observed people. Seeing their actions and slowly learning from their habits helped me become more comfortable. By the end of senior year I was slowly getting the hang of making friends because I could adjust to a person’s personality and interests. I knew how to act, what to say while still retaining my own personality.”

Percy just stared at Luke. He was confused, shocked, amazed and nervous at the same time. He really had no idea what’s going on and what he should do.

“Anyway, regarding you…I swear this was the first time I’ve ever done this kind of thing. Other than I really was just practicing my lock picking skills and I chose your place because…” Luke trails off and Percy waits for the rest.

“When I first saw you…, I was immediately intrigued. I wanted to approach you then but I figured the time wasn’t right or something. But anyway, my curiosity got deeper when I spoke to you. Something about you was magnetizing and I don’t know what. I felt like I had to know more about you and maybe someday be your friend.”

“You just wanted to be my friend? That’s it?” Percy’s voice got a bit louder. “And why the heck were you practicing lock picking?”

“I thought I was rusty. It’s a really handy skill to have. I don’t know, Percy. It was a spur of the moment decision. I just thought that I had no other way of being your friend, so I started stalking you. Then I find out that you were friends with the only two people I was close with.” Luke twiddled his thumbs.

“Luke, I’m not gonna lie, I’m still in shock.” Percy cleared his throat. “This whole situation makes that kiss wayyyy worse,”

“Dude! I swear I’ve no intention of harming or harassing you or anything! But I’m so sorry about that too!” Luke jolts up and puts his hands together, apologizing.

They were silent for a second until Percy spoke again. “So, to summarize. You just wanted to be friends with me?”

Luke, full of shame, nods his head.

“Dude, what the hell, why would you go this far? And you do know you could have just talked to me like a normal human being, right? You could have at least said hi? Isn’t that what you basically did in the elevator?”

“You have no idea how much I rehearsed those three words in my head before I spoke to you. I was getting nauseous already, I thought I was going to vomit on my shoes. That wasn’t even what I was supposed to say," Luke shakes his head. “And I thought I was going to mess it up and scare you away or something. I didn’t wanna be creepy,”

“So, you thought breaking into my place is less creepy?”

“No, but I didn’t have to have a conversation with you. I was learning a lot just by seeing your place and watching you. Besides, I really wanted to help you out. I know how tough it is living alone.”

“You watch me?” Percy shoots a look at Luke.

“Wait no, not like that!” Luke’s face turns slightly red. “I watch you sometimes from your window but I swear all I do is observe and I’ve never seen you naked! I look away or leave when you strip, I promise!” Percy’s face was probably as red as Luke’s at this point.

“So, I’m guessing you know about the blue food because of Annabeth and Thalia… you knew about the creamer because you watch me…” Percy rubs his chin as he processed his thoughts. “I still don’t understand why you couldn’t have just talked to me and befriended me like a normal person would. This was too extra, man. Just for someone like me?” He points to himself.

“Don’t say that. Yeah this took a lot of unnecessary effort, but you’re a great person, Percy. I don’t regret trying to be your friend. You’re not just any average person,”

Percy sighs. “Still… If I caught you and we weren’t friends, your ass would be in jail within an hour.”

“I know… I’m really sorry… please don’t hate me.”

Percy looks at Luke and shook his head. “I’m an idiot for saying this but I don’t hate you. You’re a good person and I trust Thalia and Annabeth’s taste in friends. They wouldn’t befriend a psycho. You’re just really… weird and dumb,”

Luke chuckles. “Are you going to tell them about this?”

“Heck no. They’d make fun of us ‘til the end of time.” They both laugh.

“But can you please knock off breaking into my place? Why were you here anyway?”

Luke shrugs. “I left you a good morning note on your couch,”

Percy squinted his eyes at Luke. “One more thing. Why are you so… flirty with your notes.”

Luke immediately responds by shrugging. “I didn’t think I was being flirty.”

“You called me ‘sweet thing’ or something. And why were you asking if Jason was my boyfriend?”

“I just saw how you guys were like during dinner,” Luke looks around, lost in thought. “And well, I figured it would be harder for me to befriend you if you had a boyfriend already. Especially if it was Jason. He seemed like the jealous overprotective type.”

“Oh, he is.” _just not with me._ Percy thought. “And he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just really good friends.”

Luke nods.

“I still can’t believe this happened, Luke.” Percy said staring forward, slightly smiling. The situation was rather weird but he had to admit he was relieved and a bit humored.

“What did you even pick up earlier? New tools for lock picking? A cat suit?” Percy asks.

“Nothing… I made it up so I could spend more time with you and maybe get to know you more. I would’ve just gone inside a random store and bought something I might need in there.” Luke looks away but gazes back at Percy. “Hmm… a cat suit. Do you want me to come in here wearing one?” he laughed.

Percy’s eyes widen and he elbows Luke in the ribs. “Don’t you dare!”

“Okay I won’t!” Luke continued to laugh.

 

A couple of minutes later, Luke thought he should leave and Percy agreed. They both had classes tomorrow after all.

“Sorry again,” Luke says.

“I think you’re a cool guy, Luke. I just hope I’m not wrong and you’re not actually a serial killer,”

“I’m a lot of things Percy. A stalker, a psychic, a creep… but I’m not a serial killer.” He grins.

They wave good bye and Percy shuts his door. He finally rests on his bed, relieved that he didn’t die and wasn’t really facing any kind of danger. Things just got stranger but at this moment, Percy thought he should worry about all this tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always appreciate your comments qwq <3
> 
> check out my IG or message me there for questions/updates: @viralirus


	9. Percy: Emotional Support 24/7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update, i've been very busy at work :(
> 
> i always appreciate reading comments!  
> message me on Tumblr or IG if you wanna chat :D
> 
> Tumblr: max-never-maxine  
> IG: @viralirus

It was a lovely Thursday morning and it’s been two days since Percy’s discovery.

_Good morning, little clam shell_

Percy cringed as he remembered the note Luke left last Monday. How can someone that attractive be so terrible with ‘cute notes’ and talking to people in general? And the fucker even says he wasn’t being flirty. Little clam shell? What does that even mean?

He brushed off his sheets and stretched when he got out of bed. He had class today so he figured lazing around wasn’t ideal. He brushed his teeth and heads straight for the shower.

He wrapped a towel on his waist and grabbed his phone to check for messages. A couple of texts from Nico, Thalia and Grover. He smiled as he replied back to each of them and goes to his kitchen to have breakfast.

Percy kept his eyes on his phone as he scrolled and goes to get the cereal from the cupboard.

“Oh hey, you’re awake,”

Percy screams and jumps on the spot he was standing in, almost dropping the box of cereal. He looks over to the couch and sees Luke, who had already helped himself to his own bowl of cereal.

“How long have you been here?!”

Luke glances at Percy’s clock and shrugs. “I don’t know, I got hungry.”

“Don’t you have food in your own place?” Percy puts down the box on the counter. “I do, but I’ve always been curious about what your cereal tastes like. See? I’m not so bad! I never stole anything from you,”

Percy shakes his head and gives up. He takes the milk out of the fridge and realized it felt heavier. He looks at Luke as he poured some on his bowl.

“Yeah, I got you milk.” Luke says before pushing a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

“I still don’t understand what your deal is,” Percy gets a spoon and starts eating.

Luke sighs. “I’m a loser with not enough friends.”

Percy just rolls his eyes and just begins eating. “Also, stop calling me pet names in your notes, it’s weird.”

“Why not, I think it’s funny.”

“Only married couples do that,” Percy regrets ever saying that, but luckily Luke doesn’t respond back. He takes a quick glance and it seems like the other was too distracted by his cereal.

Percy finishes his cereal soon and so does Luke. He hops off from the couch and takes Percy’s bowl to the sink. “Allow me,” He smiled. “You should get a dishwasher.”

“Don’t get me one,” Percy replies and Luke laughs.

Percy thanks Luke and walks to his bedroom. He hears footsteps following behind him. He turns to see Luke smiling like an idiot. “What?” Luke asks.

“I should be asking you that. As you can see I have to get dressed,” Percy comically gestures to his towel wrap. “I have class today, you can’t stay in here.”

“Oh, right right.” Luke backs away. “I guess I’ll go now then. See you around!” and with that, Percy was finally alone.

He gets dressed and locks his door, thinking if there was even a point. He jogs towards the elevator and goes inside. Two floors down and right on cue, Luke comes in.

“Good morning!” he greets as he stands next to Percy.

Percy sighs and looks at Luke. “Good morning, stalker. What are you up to today?”

Luke grins. “Class, of course. Are you doing anything tonight?”

“I don’t know. I might do my homework, get more locks.. or possibly find a new place to live?” Percy shrugs. Luke responds by frowning and flashing his ‘sad eyes’ at Percy.

“Okay, okay. Sorry. No, I don’t have plans at the moment.”

“Cool, I was hoping we could watch a movie together. Your place of course.” Luke’s smile comes back and Percy found himself smiling as well.

“Why my place? You’ve never invited me to yours,”

“I like yours better, man.”

The elevator dings and they both get off. “See you tonight,” Percy waves good bye and runs for his bus. He takes a seat and tries to process how peculiar his situation has gotten. He just smiles to himself. He sincerely believes Luke wasn’t a bad guy. And he trusted his instincts.

 

Over lunch, Percy manages to bump into Jason. Like, literally bump into Jason. Percy was minding his own business, thinking of what to get for lunch when suddenly he collides with a bigger person that he bounces away a few inches. He says sorry, immediately recognizing Jason and noticed that he looked really gloomy. He was so out of it that he bumped into two pillars before bumping into Percy.

Percy decided to drag him to lunch with him, not even asking if he had anything to do. But Percy thought it was fine, seeing as the blonde wasn’t retaliating.

“What’s wrong man?” They sat on the grass, overlooking the library. Not many people come here so Percy loved this spot.

Jason didn’t answer and just kept looking at the sandwich Percy got for him. “Is it one of your classes? A classmate? Too much work to do? Nico?”

Jason looked up as soon as Nico’s named was mentioned, and Percy felt that familiar stinging pain again. Jason slowly nods.

“What happened?” Percy asks, ignoring his sandwich too.

“Remember the last time we hung out? I told you something was off with him? This time it’s getting worse. He’s so slow with replying nowadays if he replied at all. We used to talk a lot but now I feel like I’m just bugging him. I don’t know man, there’s something wrong. Does he hate me? Did I do something?”

Percy looked worried and he exhales. “I’m sorry I can’t help you man. Nico doesn’t contact me that much either. But I know things are different between you two.” Percy remembers Nico’s text this morning. He didn’t seem like he was different. He was checking up on Percy like how he always did from time to time. How come he was treating Jason differently.

“It’s alright… I just wish we could sort this out. I don’t understand why he’s avoiding me.”

“You can, bro. Just talk to him. You know where he lives anyway.”

Jason half smiled and looks at Percy, who smiles back. “I’m really sorry I always put you through this.”

“No worries, man. I’m always happy to babysit my boy. Even the blonde superman needs some support,” He laughs and Jason’s smile grows wider. “Now eat up, loser.”

Percy managed to steer the conversation away from Nico. He figured if they talked about it even more with no solution, Jason would let the ground eat him up.

“Is it okay if I stay over your place again tonight? I really need the company…” Jason becomes gloomy again for a second.

Percy became more worried and nodded. “Why not. As long as you treat me food,”

“Anything you want. I’ll make sure you’ll be obese by next week,” Jason laughed.

The bell soon rings and the friends have to part ways because they were in different classes at this time.

Percy felt happy that he gets to spend more time with Jason. Just like the old times. They hung out a lot to play games, tell stories, watch movies.  
Movies.

He suddenly remembers the plans he made with Luke. Shit.

He pulls out his phone and sends Luke a message.

 _Hey, stalker. I’m suddenly unavailable tonight. I-_ Percy stopped typing, thinking if he should mention Jason. He shrugs off the thought, thinking it wasn’t a big deal. It really wasn’t.

 _-have some company coming over. Been a bad time for him. We can have our movie night next time._ Sent.

Not a minute later, Luke replies.

_aww : ( poor guy. It’s cool. I can wait for you guys. We can watch after you two are done._

_don’t wait. We have classes tomorrow, we can’t stay up late._

Percy sits down in his class and puts down his bag. No reply from Luke until 7 minutes later,

_I’ll just pass by real quick then : )))_

_luke don’t u dare._

No reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: max-never-maxine  
> IG: @viralirus


	10. may i have some sugar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really sorry for the late updates q-q i've been very busy and wasn't able to give time for this. i'll be writing the next few chapters today though, so i promise there will be an update next week :DDD
> 
> thank you so much for the comments..... i really appreciate every single one qwq my heart skips a beat everytime i see that there's a message in my inbox aaaaaaa <3
> 
> hey, i'll drop my cosplay/public facebook account here just once: Max Castellan (i post weird shit and poor attempts at jokes)  
> IG: @viralirus  
> feel free to message me :DD ///i need friends weep

Halfway through an action film Jason randomly picked from Percy’s collection of movies, Percy grabs the remote and hits pause.

“Bro. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jason, much like a laggy computer, takes a second to react. He slowly turns his head and takes his eyes away from the TV and looks at Percy. He had a really sad looking poker face, but he tried to smile.

“Jay, c’mon. Don’t pretend everything’s okay.”

Jason just sighs and takes a swig of coke.

“I can’t stop thinking about Nico, bro. I’m sorry…”

Percy sighs. “I could try talking to him if you want to? Maybe ask him how he’s doing? Maybe I’ll get something out of that?”

“I guess… I really don’t know what I should do… I’m a bit scared to talk to him about this.”

“Why?”

“I’m scared to hear what the reason is for his sudden coldness.”

“I’m sure it’s all fine, Jay. You’re just overthinking.” Percy smiled away the lie he just told Jason. He knew something was definitely up. “Just promise me that you’ll at least consider talking to him,”

“I’m really really grateful for everything, Perce.” Jason smiled weakly and puts a hand on Percy’s shoulder. Percy smiled back. 

“Anyway, dude. Enough about me.” He perked up all of a sudden. “How have you been doing? Still got that stalker up your ass?”

“Yeah… I guess,”

“Got any clue who it is yet?”

“No, not really.” Percy swallowed hard.

“You should really call the police, Perce. Find this guy and get them arrested already,”

“No!” Percy jumped. Jason looked at him, shocked. “I mean… it could just be a prank. No cops. I don’t want to inconvenience them. I got this okay?”

“Whatever you say.” Jason sighed shaking his head. “I can stay here with you some time though. I’ll be your body guard or something,” Percy laughed and the two of them turned their heads when they heard a knock on the door.

“It’s fine, Superman.” Percy stands up. “Aquaman’s got this,” He strikes a hero pose and leaves for the door.

Percy clutched the knob and turned to open it. His nerves almost jumped right out of his body when he saw the familiar tall, blonde, man outside his door.  
Speaking of stalker.

“Excuse me. Sorry for the trouble, neighbour. Do you have any sugar?”

Percy stared at Luke then the empty glass jar he was holding, then his muscular arm that was out there because he was wearing a sleeveless shirt (focus, Percy.), then back at Luke. “Uhm… I…”

“Luke?” Percy hears the sound of excited footsteps behind him. “Hey man!”

“Jason! What’s up? Hope I wasn’t interrupting; I was just dropping by hoping for a bit of sugar,” Luke smiled raising his jar. Jason smiles and takes it before Percy could say anything.

“I’m sure this loser has some,” Jason laughed and walked back to look for some in Percy’s kitchen.

“I told you not to come over,” Percy muttered through gritted teeth. He stepped aside and gestured for Luke to come in.

“Hey, I just needed something sweet,” Luke smirks. Percy squinted suspiciously at him when he walked past.

“Were you watching us?”

Luke shook his head. “I wasn’t, don’t worry.”

“Here you go man,” Luke nods and smiles as he takes the sugar from Jason. “Are you doing anything? You could stay for a bit if you’d like?”

“Thanks man, but I’m still finishing some essays due tomorrow. Needed the sugar for my coffee,” He lightly shook the jar.

“Yes, I’m sure Luke’s very busy,” Percy looked at Luke and he knew it was a signal. He laughed to himself.

“I should go now. Sorry for the trouble guys. Might’ve interrupted something,” Luke turned around to leave. “Thanks for the sugar. See you around soon,”

“He’s a cool guy,” Jason said as the door shut.

“Hm?”

“Luke. He’s cool.” Jason smiled.

“Yeah, he is.”

The two go back to their seats on the couch and Jason sighs. “I feel like I’m dragging you down with me,”

“What do you mean?” Percy looks at him in confusion.

“I’m worried that my current state is affecting you too…”

 _more than you think, Grace._ “Of course not. I’ll be right here with you alright? That’s what friends are for.”

“Percy, I,”

“You’re welcome, Superman.”

 

Three hours later, after a couple of movies, Jason had to leave.

“I really can’t stress how happy I am to have you in my life,” Jason says, taking his bag and looking at Percy. “If you ever need anything, just tell me alright? I owe you so much already. I would love to return the favour,”

“No problem man. Just make sure that you get this thing sorted out with your one true love, okay?” He smiled back.

Jason crouches down to tighten his shoes. “Update me alright?” Percy pats his back.

“Will do,”

He opens the door for Jason, who waves one last time and jogs to the elevator. Percy shuts the door.

“What’s up?”

“Ohmyfu—”

“Hey, Hey! It’s me!” Luke laughed clutching Percy’s shoulders.

“Who else, you asshole! Why are you here again?!”

“I said I’d drop by right?”

Percy slaps his arm, “I thought that was the whole sugar thing already?”

“I did say I’d see you soon.” Luke shrugs with a goofy grin on his face.

Percy rolled his eyes. He walks over to the couch and slumps down.

“You didn’t mention that it was Jason,” Luke followed him to the couch. “What’s up with him?”

“He’s having some trouble with the person he likes. I’m not sure if you know him. His name is Nico.”

“Bianca Di Angelo’s younger brother? Yeah we’ve met a couple of times. I was hanging out with my friend, Will, when I met him.”

“I know Will. Why is it that my friends are your friends too?”

“We were destined to be good pals, Percy.” Luke giggled.

Percy shook his head and smiled. “Want something to eat or drink?” he stood up to get another bottle of cola.

“You two seem really close,” Luke said from the couch.

Percy nods. “We’ve been friends for a long time. He was there for me when I had it rough too.”

“That sounds really nice,” Luke smiled and was quiet for a moment. Percy came back with a mug of cola for Luke.

“He isn’t your boyfriend but you like him, don’t you?” Luke suddenly asks as he takes the mug from Percy, who looks at him with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I could tell you really wanted to be alone with him earlier,”

“No, no, it’s not that. I just thought he would want to talk more about his Nico problems in private.”

“But I’m right aren’t I?”

Percy looks at Luke and sighs. “Just drink your cola,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fanfiction started off as an attempt to ease my poor aching heart when i realized i couldn't get over Luke's death in PJO :^( i never thought that anyone would read this and enjoy it qwq so thank you so much! thank you for reading!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> twitter: @HailJambalaya  
> IG: @viralirus


End file.
